The biggest challenge for writers today on different online platforms is to keep readers hooked to their content. Not many of them tend to spend their time reading the entire content. Some may even just read the title and ignore the content.
The reason for all these issues mentioned above is that before writing, writers do not pay attention to the topic they choose. It is the topic they select that either engages their readers. Still, many of them end up with broad and unclear topics. They fail to put their idea clearly in the title, which eventually makes the entire content ineffective.
The dilemma of picking the right topic
When it comes to selecting a topic for their content, writers mostly come up with vague and ambiguous ones. These topics fail to make readers clear about what all the content entails. Understanding the difference between an effective and ineffective topic is imperative for writers.
For instance, if a headline says “Coronavirus: A threat to the world”, it does not provide a clear picture. Coronavirus is a broad topic, and there could be many aspects related to it, such as its causes, symptoms, spread, prevention, and so on. Now, if a reader wants to know the measures that should be adopted against the disease, and he finds the topic as mentioned above on the internet, he would not read it. This is because the topic is not at all specific, which makes it invalid.
It does not reveal whether it is about the symptoms, measures, or spread of Coronavirus. So, different readers would have different interpretations of the topic. Had it been “Preventive Measures for Coronavirus”, the reader would have read the entire content. This would make the topic specific and valid.
Similarly, there are a few topics, such as “Women Empowerment” that have been explored by various writers for several years. Readers would not want to invest their time in such generic topics unless there is something new and exciting related to them.
Therefore, writers should pick these topics if there is a new event related to such topics. For example, an initiative taken up by the government in the upliftment of women. After this, they should put up the title of their content as “Government to invest in women-led businesses”. It is topics like this that generates interest in the minds of the readers and not “Women Empowerment”. This is mainly because the former is precise whereas the latter is not.
Steps to be followed
Here is a quick guide that writers need to adhere to in devising a correct topic for their content.
- Try to be precise: A reader would always be interested in knowing about things that are the talk of the hour. So, writers should dig out topics that make the maximum headlines in the world. But the task does not end here. The most important thing here is that they should select their words wisely and provide readers with a precise understanding of what the content is all about. If the title provides no clear idea of what the content is all about, the reader would not go ahead and read it.
- Avoid broad topics – As explained through the examples above, the more immense topic writers choose, the higher are chances of an unclear headline. And if the readers find the topic to be vague at first sight, they would never want to read the complete content. Hence, writers should try to always write on narrow topics that provide readers with a clear understanding of the content.
- Find something interesting – With so many writers on the web today, some topics have been written several times. As already explained in the example above, such repetitive content does not appeal to readers. So, writers should search on the internet the topics that readers prefer to know about and then come up with one.
- Attempt to build a connection – Readers always appreciate hard-hitting and relevant topics that are related to them and society. So, writers may search for such topics and gain new readers through their quality content. This task becomes more relaxed if they succeed in grabbing their attention with the title of their content itself. If the writer manages to come up with a compelling title that builds a connection with the readers, they would automatically read the complete content.
- Know your readers – Before zeroing down on any topic, writers should be clear about their audience. They should have a thorough understanding of what possibly their preferences could be and then only come up with the most suitable one. Once they are clear about their likes and dislikes, they would get an idea of what title could be the most appropriate in acquiring their attention.
Hence, writing content is not as easy as it seems to be. It is highly possible that readers ignore the entire content on just reading its topic or title. This is why writers need to lay the same emphasis on coming up with an appropriate title as they would in writing the content. Just brainstorming of ideas would not be of any help to them.
They need to divulge deep into what exactly would attract and excite their valuable readers. Following all these steps would eventually help writers reap considerable benefits in the future.
Joining a comprehensive content writing course would be a viable option for aspiring writers to know more about this.
